Oxbow Dam

Oxbow Dam is a hydroelectric run-of-the-river rockfill dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon (river mile 273) along the Idaho-Oregon border.

Oxbow Dam
Oxbow Dam is located in the United States
Oxbow Dam
Location in the United States
Oxbow Dam is located in Idaho
Oxbow Dam
Location in Idaho
Official nameOxbow Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationHells Canyon,
Adams County, Idaho /
Baker County, Oregon
Coordinates44°58′15″N 116°50′04″W
Opening date1961 (1961)[1]
Operator(s)Idaho Power Company
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsSnake River
Height175 feet (53 m)
Reservoir
CreatesOxbow Reservoir
Total capacity58,200 acre-feet (71,800,000 m3)
Catchment area73,300 square miles (190,000 km2)
Surface area1,150 acres (470 ha)
Power Station
Installed capacity190 megawatts (250,000 hp)
Annual generation1,047 gigawatt-hours (3,770 TJ)
Columbia River Basin dams
Columbia River Basin dams

Description
Oxbow Dam power station

Completed 62 years ago in 1961,[1] the dam is part of the Hells Canyon Project that also includes Hells Canyon Dam and Brownlee Dam, all built and operated by Idaho Power Company.

The dam's powerhouse contains four generating units with a total nameplate capacity of 190 megawatts (250,000 hp).

Lacking passage for migrating salmon, the three Hells Canyon Project dams blocked access by anadromous salmonids to a stretch of the Snake River drainage basin from Hells Canyon Dam up to Shoshone Falls, which naturally prevents any upstream fish passage to the upper Snake River basin.

Heliport

Oxbow Heliport (FAA LID: OR83) is a private 100-by-100-foot (30 by 30 m), turf heliport owned by Idaho Power.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Oxbow completed (photo)". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 30, 1961. p. 1, section 2.
  2. FAA 5010 for OR83
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